Death of the Great Man: A Novel

(Paperback)

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In a novel thats part comic mystery, part political satire, and part case vignette, a psychiatrist reviews his involvement with a narcissistic national leader who has turned up dead on the consulting room couch.

When Peter D. Kramer wrote about his work with psychiatric patients in books like Listening to Prozac and Should You Leave, Joyce Carol Oates said, To read his prose on virtually any subject is to be provoked, enthralled, illuminated. When Kramer switched to fiction, Publishers Weekly wrote, The depth, quality, and ambition of Kramers prose will surprise those expecting a superficial crossover effort.

In his new novel, Death of the Great Man, Kramer uses those literary skills to introduce readers to an unforgettable character, Henry Farber, a well-meaning psychiatrist forced into hiding when the nations chief executivea narcissistic autocrat in his disastrous second termis found dead on the consulting room couch. From an isolated bungalow, Farber sets out to clear his name while offering an intimate view of a flawed populist leader. What begins as comic mystery and political satire matures into a moving journey of self-exploration and a commentary on the fate of truth-telling in an era when lying has become a norm in public life.

Reviews

Death of the Great Man is a diabolically clever and truly original novel about power, paranoia, and the uses (and abuses) of psychoanalysis. Filled with insight and witty asides, Peter Kramers dystopian not-quite-fable has caught the deflated but ever-hopeful spirit of this cultural moment with unerring skill and unfailing intelligence. -- Daphne Merkin, author of This Close to Happy and 22 Minutes of Unconditional Love
Death of the Great Manis like nothing else written from our political erain a good way. Peter Kramers lifetime experience as a psychiatristand his lifelong skill as a writer and storyteller, combine in a riveting and thought-provoking book. It is fantasy, it is reality, and it is very much worth reading. -- James Fallows, longtime commentator for NPR and former chief White House speechwriter
Peter Kramer, whether in his nonfiction guise or in his fiction writing, is a thinker I return to with reverence and esteem often. He has an intuitive and poignant and funny take on the deeper questions that nag struggling humans, one that he comes to with such wisdom. -- Rick Moody, author ofThe Ice StormandThe Long Accomplishment
Peter Kramer has created an arch political satire that also offers a deep consideration of the modes and meaning of psychoanalysis. A sly novel of many pleasures, it is at once entertaining and enlightening. -- Geraldine Brooks, author of Horse
Ive been a Peter Kramer fan for years. His professional training, coupled with his innate curiosity and compassion, results in a voice uniquely his. Add to that the creativity of a novelist and you have Death of the Great Man, a mesmerizing story and a moving account of a psychotherapist in crisis. -- Abraham Verghese, author ofCutting for Stone
So many delightful surprises in here! For starters, I didn't really know thatPeter Kramer,one of Americas most celebrated Serious Thinkers, is also an absolutely crackerjack comic novelist. Nor did I expect this entertaining and timely story to take the thoughtful and thought-provokingtwists and turns it does.Death of the Great Manis serious fun. -- Kurt Andersen, author ofEvil Geniuses: The Unmaking of America
Dr. Kramers satiric tale is bold, sly, and frighteningly in tune with the momentand the moments to come. -- Elizabeth Benedict, author ofAlmost, Slow Dancing,andRewriting Illness: A View of My Own
Reaching with his storytellers wand into the swirl of the Now, Peter Kramer has created a fanciful, but in other ways deadly, political and psychological mystery. Deploying the tropes and truisms of psychotherapy, feasting on our collective fears and fantasies,Death of the Great Manis a narrative full of crackle and surprise.A mind-worm for our moment and beyondits atmospheres will be hard to shake. -- Sven Birkerts, author of The Art of Time in Memoir: Then, Again
Political satire with remarkable depictions of the workings of a psychiatrists mind, meditation on the proper aims of psychotherapy, and speculation about the dystopian contour of our future should a great man return to high office. -- Sally Satel, author ofBrainwashed: The Seductive Appeal of Mindless Neuroscience

Author Bio

Peter D. Kramer is the author of eight books, including Ordinarily Well, Against Depression, Should You Leave, the novel Spectacular Happiness, and the international bestseller Listening to Prozac. Dr. Kramer hosted the nationally syndicated public radio program The Infinite Mind and has appeared on the major broadcast news and talk shows, including Today, Good Morning America, The Oprah Winfrey Show, Charlie Rose, and Fresh Air. His essays, op-eds, and book reviews have appeared in the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, Washington Post, and elsewhere. For nearly forty years, Dr. Kramer taught and practiced psychiatry in Providence, Rhode Island. He now writes full time and is Emeritus Professor of Psychiatry and Human Behavior at Brown University.